What Eats Foxes? Top Predators Revealed

Foxes are smaller members of the Canidae family, which includes dogs, jackals, and wolves. The most widespread species in the U.S. is the red fox. Other species that inhabit the U.S. include the grey fox, swift fox, arctic fox, and the kit fox. Red foxes are the largest fox species, weighing between 7 and 15 pounds, with the males being slightly larger than females.

Foxes often live in forested areas but can also be found in mountains, grasslands, deserts, and tundra. They generally dig dens underground or into hillsides to raise their pups. Foxes are omnivores, with most of their diet primarily consisting of small mammals such as mice, rabbits, and voles. They also eat nesting birds and eggs, fruits, insects, invertebrates, and carrion. However, their diet varies by species and geography. So, what eats foxes? Keep reading to learn more about the animals that prey on foxes.

What Eats Foxes?

Foxes have few true predators that catch, kill, and eat them. Most foxes that are killed and eaten by predators are young pups. This is one reason why foxes keep the pups in underground dens. Older foxes may occasionally be killed by bears, wolves, mountain lions, or coyotes, but foxes are not a typical part of their diet. Discover foxes’ real predators and find out why some animals kill foxes but do not eat them.

Other Canids

In many cases, other canids like coyotes and wolves do not see foxes as prey. In the case of coyotes, they are simply killing their competition. This is called competitive exclusion. For example, coyotes and foxes both prey on small mammals, so coyotes may kill foxes to remove their rivals, but they do not consume the carcasses.

Wolves typically do not eat other carnivores, so foxes are rarely part of their diet. In some habitats, wolves may kill foxes to rid themselves of competition. Arctic wolves may occasionally prey on Arctic foxes when their primary prey, muskoxen and Arctic hares, are scarce, but this is uncommon behavior.

Mountain Lions

Mountain lions, also called cougars, are opportunistic predators. Although their primary prey is ungulates such as deer and elk, they also consume smaller animals like rabbits, squirrels, and skunks. However, mountain lions also kill and eat smaller predators like foxes, bobcats, and coyotes when available.

Mountain lions may kill foxes that compete with them for small mammals. They may also eliminate foxes that have tried to scavenge their kills. However, this does not stop red foxes from foraging at mountain lion kills, even when the cat is nearby. Researchers found that red foxes in the greater Yellowstone region were present at 70.3% of mountain lion kills in winter and 48.9% in summer, despite occasionally falling prey to these big cats.

Bears

Bears are opportunistic omnivores and have been recorded to eat foxes, especially when other food is scarce. However, foxes are not typically part of their diets. Even in the Arctic, polar bears will not usually attack and consume a fox and may even allow foxes to follow them and scavenge their kills.

Some bears may even be beneficial to foxes. Black bears are classified in the order Carnivora, but they do not typically hunt other animals for food. A recent study found that black bears safeguarded grey foxes from predators like coyotes, which often seek to kill their rivals over food and territory. When the bears were hibernating, coyotes were three times as likely to move into the area, causing grey foxes to avoid it. This indicates that black bears provided a buffer to protect the foxes from coyotes.

Birds of Prey

Fox pups are most often killed and eaten by birds of prey such as eagles and owls. Golden eagles are believed to be their primary predator. Golden eagles can lift around 10 pounds, so experts believe that only the pups are small enough to be carried in the eagle’s talons. There are some accounts of birds of prey attacking adult foxes, but these are said to be highly unusual. In such cases, researchers believe the foxes are eaten at the kill site. Among owls, the great horned owl is the main killer of fox cubs in North America.

Mustelids

Mustelids are a family of diverse mammalian carnivores including otters, wolverines, badgers, weasels, and many others. There are some reports of mustelids attacking and killing both pups and adult foxes. One study recorded pine martens entering a den and killing fox pups. This is called reversed intraguild predation, and it occurs when a smaller carnivore kills the young of a larger, competing species. Fishers have also been observed to enter dens and prey on fox pups. Larger mustelids such as wolverines are also considered potential predators of foxes.